News

Selected Outputs

CPRU and SCIE have joined together to produce a range of materials to support partnership working in child protection. Cross-cutting lead for social care, Amanda Edwards, coordinated the project that focused specifically on liaison between acute paediatric and child protection services.

The Healthy Child Projects

The health of children in different family structures: a cohort analysis to
inform policy

Despite increased
prevalence in reconstituted and lone parent families, little is known about how
the health of children in different family types varies, and the extent to
which any differences might be explained by socioeconomic position and changes in family
circumstances.

The
aim of this project was to determine how the health of children living in
different family structures (e.g. with one or two parents) varies, and whether
these differences are due to varying levels of poverty experienced by different
groups. We addressed these aims through examining data from
the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), a longitudinal study of children born in the
UK in 2000-2002.

Scoping and piloting the potential for inter-country comparisons to inform
policy development and evaluation for children's health

Typically,
policy impacts cannot be explored using traditional research designs such as randomised
controlled trials. Variability in national policy frameworks offers a potential
tool for evaluating policy impacts on health using existing data. Cross-country
comparisons can also aid policy development, for example policy and practice in
one or more countries can be benchmarked against others and can assist in the
identification of alternative strategies.

The
aim of this project therefore was to scope the potential use of cross-country
comparisons for informing policy development and policy evaluation. The
objectives were to:

1. Investigate
areas of contrast and similarity in national policies of different countries relevant
to child health and wellbeing

2. Carry
out a review of the methods used in existing cross-country comparisons which
have been carried out to inform policy

3. Using
knowledge gained in the previous two objectives, develop an exemplar protocol
for a cross-country comparison for policy evaluation and/or development.

Response Mode Project:Evaluating the use of a
population measure of child development in the Healthy Child Programme two year
review

This
project was conducted in response to the Government’s intention laid out in the policy statement Supporting Families in the
Foundation Years to commit
to improving outcomes for young children and families through increased focus
on preventive and early intervention services in pregnancy and the early years.
This included the development of an outcome measure of child development at
2-2½ years through which the effects of interventions could be monitored.

The project was
conducted in two phases. In the first, existing measures of child development
were reviewed to identify one that could be used as a population measure in the
HCP two-year review. In phase two we assessed the acceptability and understanding of Ages & Stages
Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3™) and Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) across a range of NHS sites. Using a mixed
methods approach we collected information on HCP two- year reviews and sought
the views and experiences of using ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE among health care
professionals and parents and carers.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the Centre
for Research in Primary and Community Care (CRIPACC) at the University of Hertfordshire

The
findings of this study identified the need for, and informed the content of, an
e-learning programme for health professionals
using the ASQ-3 as part of the HCP two-year health and development review. The
module was developed by the University of Hertfordshire and e-Learning for
Healthcare.

To describe
and assess how maternal mental health is associated with child physical and mental
health and social well-being. The results may be used in the planning and
provision of public health services, including, potentially, development work for
a maternal mental health outcomes measure in the 2015 NHS Outcomes Framework.

UK government public health policy aims to increase healthy
life expectancy, and to reduce health inequalities between communities. Health outcomes frameworks for Public
Health and the NHS have been designed to monitor and drive progress towards these aims.

Health research
and policy both tend to consider health outcomes in isolation from one another. However, children and
their families may be burdened with multiple co-occurring health outcomes.

The aims of this study are to describe how health outcomes in children co-occur, to
investigate whether co-occurrence is associated with socio-economic
circumstances, and to assess what implications this has for the planning and
provision of services.

We will address these aims through examining data from
the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), a longitudinal study of children born in the
UK in 2000-2002.